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Topic: Match Up Hybrid (Read 1206 times)

Storm has upped their game with the Storm Match Up Hybrid bowling ball. They have changed up the core from the original Match ball to offer more flare potential and more hook with the Stinger 2.0 core. The idea behind this change was to get more entry angle and better pin carry. This core is wrapped with Storms successful Reactor coverstock.

The Match Up Hybrid is coming soon. This ball is a beast! The new Match Up Hybrid might be one of my new favorite balls. I was pleasantly surprised on how smooth and controllable this ball is. The Match Up was clean through the front part of the lane and smooth and controllable off the back end. I balled down to the Match Up after throwing the Intense on a THS (Typical House Shot). I moved roughly 5 boards right with my feet from the Intense, squared up a bit and maintained the pocket with significant hitting power. I really liked this look from the new Match Up and it will be a ball in my bag going forward. I tend to throw equipment that is on the smoother end of the spectrum and this ball meets that specification. From the recreational to the more competitive bowler this ball will compliment many bowlers. The layout used is 45 x 4 ¼ x 40

Storm Match Up Hybrid Layout: 50 x 3 ¾ x 60Testing info: 43ft THS from KEGEL MARK and on older HPL with Brunswick A-2 machinesResults: Looking for the ultimate “mellow” piece to play inside and up 3rd arrow on THS and I found the key piece. Everything else I drilled for this type of lane play was always too weak or too strong. Match Solid would be too weak hitting the pocket and left more than a fair share of corner pins because it would not quite have an enough energy to carry or have enough entry angle to kick the pins around. The pearl version worked great as an “in” the track THS ball, but when I needed that up the 3rd arrow ball, the ball traveled too far down the pattern for any amount of good reaction. The Stinger 2.0 Core offers more flare potential and hook than the original version of this core line. Great ball for an entry level league bowler to start off with or a scratch or tournament bowler that once that real “go to” ball the Match Up Hybrid is PERFECT…

We have 3 testers, compare to the Match Up Pearl, and test on house shot and sport shot.

Excerpt:The Match Up Hybrid offers great performance for the money. It is easily a nice ball for beginners starting to understand ball reaction as well as a nice step-down for those with experience and an arsenal. In the end, if I had to pick one from the Match Up line to recommend, it is the Hybrid. You get the best of both worlds and can make it what you want in that range. If you have higher revs or slower speed, you will likely be able to use this ball on most house shots unless it’s typically higher volume.

The Match Up Hybrid fits into the perfect progression between the Match Up Solid/Pearl. It’s rolls earlier than the pearl and hooks more downlane than the Solid. Weaker cover bowling balls come in play a lot for longer tournaments late in the day and these balls are unreal. The Match Up Hybrid is a versatile bowling ball for all styles in bowling. Cant go without it!

Storm decided to increase hook in their Hot line. The result are the Match Up balls. These balls are going to be great value purchases. If you have that customer who wants one ball that will give them plenty of hook and they don't want to spend a lot, these balls are perfect.

The Hybrid version of the Match Up provides the most down-lane movement of the 3 in my opinion. The great thing is, the ball will still see the mid-lane on a pretty decent amount of oil. Where the Match Up Pearl felt very smooth to me down-lane the Hybrid creates great angle and continuation. I matched my layout to my Pearl Match Up so I could make a good comparison and I'm very happy with the result. I threw the match up pearl on a very blended, lower ratio house shot. Without a big buffer of dry to the right it's very easy to lose the ball right and miss the head pin right. The Hybrid Match Up, true to its name pun-ily enough, matches up perfectly, clearing the front of the lane, catching the mids and saving some of my misses shots to the right with the back-end motion and angle it creates.

The Match-Up Pearl far outperforms it's performance level and most importantly it's price. These balls are a great seller for customers who are looking for One bowling ball. Your once a week league bowlers are going to love this ball and you are going to love their appreciation for the value your shop can provide for them.

The Match Up Hybrid is simple and straightforward, same core as the Match Up Solid and Pearl, but with the Hybrid Reactor cover. This ball for me is very clean and readable and predictable. It’s a no frills, no nonsense, just get to it and get it done type reaction. The overall hook potential is very close to the Pearl and the Solid, for me it seems like the biggest difference between the 3 balls is shape being that they all have the same surface finish. The Hybrid like the other two doesn’t really seem to rev, but for me it rolls truer, if that makes sense, it’s very consistent. It’s easy down the lane, I feel like I can really catch it at the bottom and not worry about it getting down the lane or being lazy at the breakpoint if I get too firm with it. It is occasionally sensitive to carrydown, but it seems to take quite a bit of carrydown for it to not at least make it to the pocket, most commonly though it’s just a flat corner which is something I can live with when it comes to what I call “information reaction.” I would recommend this ball to virtually anyone looking for something for medium oil.

Match Up Hybrid Ball Review by PJ HaggertyAfter drilling the original Match and having some success when the lanes were flat or had a lot of friction, I felt like there was a gap between the Match and the Dare Devil. The new Match Up Hybrid is a perfect step up above the Match. The Match Up Hybrid has the new Stinger 2.0 engine with a hybrid coverstock to give us an earlier but quicker response time than the original Match.

I drilled this Match Up a little weaker than my original Match because of how much stronger this one is. I mapped it out as: 4 ½ x 4 with a small hole on my axis. I also tweaked the surface to 3000 by hand to create an earlier motion and slow down the response time just a touch. This is a full step underneath my Sure Lock, Dare Devil, and No Rules Exist. It’s perfect for when the asymmetrical balls are too strong.

I’ve also seen the Match Up Hybrid used most on medium to longer patterns but after they transition and have blended out. If you need a step down from the high performance balls but want something than the original Match, the Match Up Hybrid is a perfect solution.

The Storm Matched Up Hybrid is Storms newest Hot line release. This Matched Up is the third edition of the Matched Up line and contains the same Stinger 2.0 core as the other two. They Hybrid version is covered with the Reactor Hybrid Reactive coverstock and is factory finished at 1500 polished. The Hybrid is a great combination of both the pearl and solid. It has the strong back end reaction like the pearl but has a smoother overall shape like the solid. This ball is great for medium to medium heavy lanes. Works really well on fresh patterns and mild breakdown but for me is a bit strong for short patterns and heavy broken down lanes. I drilled mine pretty standard with the pin above bridge and my mass bias just to the right of the thumb. For me it’s a 4.5 in pin to pap. I like the overall strength and reaction.This ball is the perfect benchmark or starter ball. The price point says a beginner bowler can afford it and it contains so much hook potential that a bowler can grow with it and always have a use for it. Its great for those medium oil patterns and if you have faster ball speed would work on short patterns as well.

The Storm Match Up BYR is the latest release in the Storm Hot Line. This new Hybrid Match Up fits perfectly right in between the solid and the pearl. The Match Up cores features a higher RG and Diff. This lends itself to storing energy a little longer, leading to more shape down-lane. I like both of the other two Match Ups (solid & pearl), so a hybrid cover is a very welcome edition to the line for me. I have found this to be THE ball when the lanes start to transition but pearl covers still get too far down the lane.

I think this will be great on drier house patterns or for lighter oil volume patterns where you need a little help getting through the fronts. Plus the value and shelf appeal alone on the Hot Line is a homerun!

The Match Up Hybrid fits perfectly between the Solid/Pearl Match Ups. It’s rolls earlier than the pearl, but snaps harder than the Solid. I definitely have a need for some weaker covers and the Match Ups fit that perfectly for light volume patterns or shorter patterns. The Match Up Hybrid is a versatile blend of pearl and solid that will roll great on all but the heaviest of oil patterns.

After drilling the Match Up Hybrid (70x6x50) I was quite surprised at just how much this ball was able to hook and how much area we were able to create. At the price point, this ball out hooks most other balls in the same area which makes this piece very cost effective for a wide range of bowlers' abilities as well as styles.

In recording a video and comparing this ball to the IQ Tour and Phaze II, you can see we were actually able to move in deeper than both pieces and create more angle down lane and still get corners out. The fact that this ball could create that much direction change at a lower level price point was very impressive!

I drilled my Match Up Hybrid 75 x 5 x 40 or pin over the bridge with CG almost dead grip center. This kind of layout lets the ball tumbles end over end for me and is good when length thru the fronts become a problem. I put this on the lanes with my Match Up Solid and Pearl. The MUH got thru the fronts easier than the MUS. Not quite as well as the MUP, but the move on the backend was quicker than the MUP or the MUS. Put this one in your bag to give you an option when you need to keep straighter angles for carry and your trusty symmetrical pearls are just strong off the spot.

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"Tell me Cup, how does a great ball striker like you shoot an 83? Well I lipped out this putt on 18......"

The matchup hybrid features the same stinger 2.0 core found in the matchup pearl and match up solid, but is now wrapped in the reactor hybrid cover. With the matchup balls having a lower differential (0.035), and a higher RG (2.57), this series is perfect for rev dominant players, or anyone looking for that third game league ball. The lower differential will keep the ball from flaring too much, and the higher RG will get the ball through the heads easily. I went with my usual 50x5x50 layout, which will compliment nicely with what I expected the ball to do out of the box. My matchup solid, with the 70x4x40 layout, produces an earlier and more continuous ball motion for the fresh. The matchup hybrid gives me the perfect option to take a step left and open up the lane more when the solid just refuses to make the corner. The matchup hybrid reminds me a lot of my Hyroad, with a very similar shape, just a few feet earlier. The matchup hybrid is now available for purchase, head to your local pro shop today! #StormNation